The Christian Warrior Spirit
New subscriber here. A topic I would like to see you write about is the connection between being a Christian man and being a warrior.
Especially for those who are in sheep-dog type careers like soldiers, police, etc.Personally I feel called to be a warrior in this life — I will be one of the first in my family to serve in the military. But sometimes I find it hard to articulate in words why God calls us to this way of life - especially in a growing culture of phony tolerance and soft feminism. Thank you. I’ve enjoyed reading your work.
God made us in His image. That’s one of the very first things we learn about our own nature. In many ways, we are a reflection of who God is. Or at least we learn that we should try to be. What is Christian life but a constant struggle to imitate our Creator and show in our character the virtues He possesses to perfection?
So what are those virtues? Who is our God?
If you were to build a mental image of God according to the mainstream postmodern message, you would end up with something like this:
This is how most people see Jesus nowadays, both within and without the Christian faith. This comically misunderstood representation of Christ couldn’t be further from the truth: Jesus was anything but a hippie pacifist. He came to earth to save us, but He was ready to shake things up in the process, denounce degeneracy and moral corruption, do all of this without hiding, and definitely without trying to be “nice”.
Did Jesus not stand firm in The Word and defend it, even if it led to conflict? Did He not flip the tables of the temple and did He not constantly cast demons out strongly and boldly?
You see, there is a grave misconception going around, that Our Lord is soft, weak, passive. He is presented by many as a hippie who avoids all conflict and simply tries to be nice to everyone. We’ve been told He’s for peace regardless of how evil the world gets, but anyone who has read The Bible can clearly see the fighting nature of The Lord our God, who led the Israelites out of Egypt, who fought alongside them to defeat multiple armies, to lead them into the promised land.
We worship the God who brought fire upon the degenerate cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and cleared out the baal-worshipping Canaanites by using Joshua and his army as His instruments. Is it not true that while the ideal might be peace, Our Lord has always been capable of war and willing to wage war against evil?
Exodus 15:3: The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.
It is this warrior God that we are made in the image of: powerful but also righteous, forgiving and just.
Luke 10:19: I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Does trampling on snakes and scorpions sound peaceful to you? The ultimate proof of our commitment to The Lord is being willing and able to fight to defend His Word if it becomes necessary. The discernment of knowing when to engage in conflict is not mine to give, but something that can only come as wisdom from The Holy Spirit. Undeniably though, however, readiness to surrender your life to The Lord includes being ready to fight for Him.
What is war but an intentional campaign against an opposing force? Are we then not called to wage war with all our might against evil, against sin, and against the lies of the enemy, and to make sure they do not conquer any more souls?
Some men feel a clear calling to lean into their warrior nature, and the world has convinced them that that’s unchristian. But in reality, fighting righteously couldn’t be more Christian. You can serve God in many different ways, and that includes sheep-dog careers, like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this article. Just like the Lord needs priests, preachers, teachers, fathers, artists, writers, to propagate His message, He needs warriors to protect His people and His word.
God gave men a warrior’s heart. He did this intentionally, to give us clues about the role we are to play in this life. The desire to find a worthy battle to fight is written deep into our hearts for a reason: even those of us who won’t find a vocation in sheep-dog careers need to lean into our warrior spirit to better serve those we love. Every man is a warrior at heart, because we are made in the image of a warrior God.
Don’t fall for the widespread lie that Christian men are hippie pacifists or soft, meek and spineless. A true Christian man stands firm in his faith and draws strength and courage from his creator to face the innumerable enemies he’ll face both outside of and within his own mind. Christian life is a fight. And only a warrior will endure it.
Thank you for reading!
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God bless you,
Simple Man
If you liked this article, you’ll love my books.
Amen brother 🙏